When the A380 performed its maiden flight 10 years ago this month, it was clear that Airbus was once again shaping the future of air transportation.
A decade later, the company’s vision and passion for aviation are keeping the A380 at the forefront – providing a very large jetliner that is more than ever meeting passengers’ changing expectations and matching the evolving trends in air traffic, while generating significant revenue for its operators.
This is best illustrated by airlines’ current use of the A380 on nearly 100 routes to some 45 destinations, linking major airports, accommodating growing traffic on intense regional segments, connecting hubs to key city destinations and serving busy domestic flights. On certain routes, A380s are operated on multiple frequencies – up to seven per day.
The A380’s unrivalled interior volume enables operators to choose the cabin configuration that meets the needs of their specific routes and passenger preferences.
As an example, many airlines are incorporating a Premium Economy cabin, adding higher-revenue economy class seating while maintaining equivalent overall passenger count totals. As a result, airlines are able to boost the average passenger yield and generate approximately $13 million in additional revenue annually for each of their A380s, according to Frank Vermeire, the Head of A380 Marketing at Airbus.
Airbus also is offering an 11-abreast Budget Economy class layout, which retains Airbus’ comfort standard with 18-inch-wide seats.
“But we aren’t stopping here, as we have some new cabin innovations that allow even more optimisation of the cabin space, thereby allowing us to add additional business and premium economy seats,” Vermeire added. “The new higher seat count configuration, together with the increase in yield, will generate up to $20 million each year in additional revenues per A380.”
The A380’s cabin enables further enhancements of first and business class offerings as well, including private three-room suites for the most discerning travellers, while higher density arrangements for the A380 also are possible – with one airline announcing a two-class 600-seat configuration.
In developing the A380, teams at Airbus set their sights high from the design and technology point of view, introducing innovations literally from nose to tail.
This includes the Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) for enhanced safety during landing, and the AFDX®backbone network technology for on-board data exchange – both of which are used on the A350 XWB, and have become recognised industry benchmarks.
Airbus began its “Love at First Flight” marketing outreach in 2011, capturing passengers’ emotions after the initial A380 experience, a sentiment, which keeps them coming back to their aircraft of choice.
Sales of the A380 now total 317 from 18 customers – representing a 90 per cent share of the very large aircraft market. More than 150 A380s are currently flown by 13 operators, which carrying approximately two million passengers every month.
Somewhere in the world, an A380 “shares the love” by taking off or landing every four minutes.
For instance, Qatar Airways’ first Airbus A380, established a new benchmark for the airline’s premium service, furthering its well-known reputation for providing a five-star inflight experience
Taking advantage of the A380’s unmatched double-deck roominess, Qatar Airways continued its focus on five-star service by configuring its state-of-the-art first class cabin to provide optimal comfort, space and service for its passengers.
Located on the aircraft’s upper deck, Qatar Airways initial A380 offers eight full-flat seats with a 90-inch pitch in first class, along with expansive entertainment options on individual 26-inch video screens.
In addition, first-class passengers will have access to elegant lavatories on-board, along with a stylish lounge area for relaxing – which is available for Qatar Airways’ First- and Business-Class A380 passengers.
“Operating on the Doha to London Heathrow route initially, this cabin will offer a new level of comfort for passengers travelling to the United Kingdom, who will also benefit from our new lounges in Hamad International Airport and the new Qatar Airways Premium Lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 4,” Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency, Akbar Al Baker, said.
“We are committed to offering customers the best possible experience while travelling with the airline, not only in terms of custom-built comfort features across all of our cabins, but with the continued expansion of our young and modern fleet. The A380 will truly become a flagship for Qatar Airways, elevating the high-quality premium services it is known for. From the start of the trip to its end, premium passengers receive a true five-star experience”, he added.
As for Air France, to prepare for the A380’s arrival, Air France worked extensively with airport authorities to best adapt infrastructure and equipment on the ground. The runways, for example, must stretch 45 m / 148 ft across and the 538 passengers must be able to board comfortably on 2 levels!
In addition, Air France crew and on-ground staff go through special training to adapt to the demands of this extraordinary aircraft
After several years of preparation, the special day finally arrived on November 23, 2009: Air France operated its first commercial A380 flight between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and New York!
It became the first European airline to offer flights on this double-decker, four-engine super jumbo, which is capable of flying over 13,000 km (8,078 mi) at 900 km/hr (560 mph).
Also, Lufthansa received its first Airbus A380 in May 2010 and launched its maiden scheduled flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo the following month.
The German carrier now has 12 superjumbos in its fleet with two on order.
Following Lufthansa tradition, its first two A380s were named Frankfurt am Main and Munchen. Subsequent superjumbos were named after Star Alliance hub cities like Brussels, Tokyo and Beijing.
Lufthansa currently deploys its A380s between Frankfurt and ten destinations – Houston, Miami, San Francisco, New York, Johannesburg, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai and Delhi.
Eight of the airline’s 12 A380s are in a three-class configuration accommodating 526 passengers; the remaining four have been fitted with Lufthansa’s new fully-flat business seating and have the same layout, except for two less seats in business class.
On the upper deck, there are eight First Class seats in the front cabin in a 1-2-1 layout, followed by two cabins containing 98 Business seats (96 in the fully-flat seating configuration) in 2-2-2.
Economy occupies the entirety of the main lower deck and seats 420 across four cabins in a 3-4-3 configuration. Only Emirates has a larger number of economy seats, with 427.
Seats in First and Business are equipped with AC power ports while economy seats come with USB ports and iPhone chargers.
SADE WILLIAMS
